technology include recording and storing bookings,
aircraft parts census and spares tracking.
Blockchain transparency and immutability are also
believed to be potential key assets in efficiently
dealing with an ever-growing passenger flow –
notably for passport and visa controls – eventually
putting an end to manual verification.
Biometrics
In 2019, the biometric realm in airports is
becoming a reality, heralding a future of artificial
intelligence in aviation. There have been multiple
trials of face-recognition technology and early
adoption has started in airports from Narita to
Athens, and from London to NYC and the main
Chinese cities. Alternative approaches using
palm-vein identification (South Korea) are also
part of this trend. The principal objective is to
decongest security lines and controls, putting
the key functionalities at the boarding gates.
Less manned work is required, which expedites
boarding processes and leads to shorter queues
– these are the key elements pushing airports to
invest in these new technologies.
Secure by Design
Continued growth in passenger traffic and the
‘Amazon effect’ on logistics is driving the adoption
of more autonomous, artificial intelligence-based
aviation solutions, enhancing airport security-
screening operations. Increasing reliance on
seamless security processes at airports and
the digitisation of traveller authorisations is
susceptible to high-impact incidents (affecting
security and business continuity) if the networks
hosting these digitised solutions were to be
breached.
Up in the Cloud
The “cloudification” of business processes to
streamline efficiencies, reduce upfront capital
investments and offer elasticity to adapt to
passenger flows (seasonal passenger demand
because of special events such as Olympic Games,
New Year, pilgrimages, etc) is increasingly being
considered by airports and airline companies.
Modernising legacy IT infrastructures is one of the
main drivers, closely followed by private investors
taking ownership of public airports and looking
to generate revenues more quickly with minimal
‟
In 2019, the biometric
realm in airports is becoming
a reality, heralding a future
of artificial intelligence in
aviation.
investments. More specific applications are also
expected to become cloud-hosted, such as control
rooms to improve efficiencies in communications
and co-ordination.
The unknown-unmanned threat
Managing operational disruptions that impact
business continuity and revenue generation is a
key focus for both airports and airlines. With the
adoption of new technologies, stakeholders have
improved their responses to such disruptions.
However, the rapid evolution and penetration
of off-the-shelf unmanned technologies, such
as drones, is posing a significant challenge.
The remote nature of the disruption makes the
perpetrator ‘unknown’, adding to the complexity
of the threat.
Improving air-traffic control
Traffic growth is pushing air-traffic control
infrastructure and capacity further towards their
limits and is becoming a big challenge in an already
incredibly congested airspace, reinforced by the
technical complexity of integrating unmanned
aircraft systems into civilian airspace.
Destination Green
Aircraft are becoming greener, with biofuels being
tested, lighter airframe components and trials
taking place on the ground to reduce the carbon
footprint when aircraft are taxiing. Encouraging
results are leading to further experiments, albeit
with heavy costs. Low fuel prices have for some
time discouraged green investments in aviation,
but low dollar-priced oil will not last forever.
Experts predict a near-term price increase that will
eventually have an impact on travel fares. In the
meantime, additional carbon-footprint taxes are
in consideration.
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